Squid Game, Digital Identity raises alarm: “Risk of emulation among the youngest”

Identità Digitale raises the ‘Squid Game’ alarm for the effects it can have on young viewers. From the data collected by the company that deals with how brands are perceived on the web, a disturbing picture emerges on the Korean series that has climbed the charts of the most viewed titles on Netflix in a very short time, becoming the most viewed title in history on the platform. “The online conversations related to the themes of ‘Squid Game’ in the last 30 days have enormous volumes – underlines Helene Pacitto, CEO of Identità Digitale Srl – we are talking about approximately 25 million interactions linked to approximately 4.5 million posts on the topic . The sentiment is negative for 39.2%, positive for 12.4% and neutral for the rest “. “The younger age groups are very inclined to draw inspiration from their social networks and bearing in mind that for Italians they are a great stage where only 12% are authors and 48% spectators, we have a good 40% of interlocutors who define the trends, challenges, fashions etc “, says Pacitto, underlining the presence of many products for sale online that ride the success of the series, from t-shirts to tracksuits like those that characterize the protagonists. The expert, “also a vademecum drawn up by the State Police to avoid emulative phenomena” “A global success that provides for a round of income that is tempting to say the least. But all this falls on the digital natives who do not have the ability to analyze with a glance cold and distant this series that becomes so much discussed, toxic and feared for the violence it is bringing among the little ones, with verbal and physical bullying. ‘1,2,3 star and then you die’ this is the word of mouth of children – Pacitto underlines – And this is where the alarm arises: first of all the parents, then the teachers, but also the child psychologists, and finally a vademecum drawn up by the State Police has also been published for the risk of emulation among the very young ” . According to Pacitto, “the episodes of violence that have been reported in recent weeks are increasingly on the rise, especially in primary schools”. “And one wonders how this is possible, given that Netflix immediately got its hands on with a ‘VM 14’ which, however, did not prevent the little ones from watching the series or part of the bloodiest scenes, thus leading them to this very dangerous emulation”, Pacitto reports. Pacitto, “why did Netflix give space to a series rejected by everyone?” “There is a fact that is underestimated by everyone – continues Pacitto – Youtube, after a collapse in the past years, is back in the top 3 of social networks, positioning itself at second place with + 89% of users in 2020. It is the second most used social network in Italy after Facebook, which records the record at 90%. And here it takes very little to understand that even if many kids do not have access to the series on Netflix, they can easily learn of the ‘most shocking scenes of Squid Game’ from the official Netflix account on Youtube which in just 5 minutes contains the worst imaginable. This video, which was released on October 9, already has 615 thousand views, given this in constant growth. But not only, because ‘Squid Game’ is recalled by the parodies of well-known Youtubers, but also by the videos produced for children with the various demos of ‘Minecraft’ or ‘Fortnite’. In short, a club vicious d to which it seems very difficult to get out “. “To conclude – informs Pacitto – here is a curiosity: no production company had accepted to take the risk of making a similar content. For 10 years, the creator has only collected waste. Only Netflix, finally, has decided to give a ‘ opportunity to this story. An excellent vision or a bad choice? “, concludes Pacitto.